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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Just a few more weeks to go until Dakota graduates from our house to join his new family. They'll train together at the GDTx center, followed by more customized training in their home location and daily routes...just like any client receiving a guide dog! I'm so excited about that.

I'm less than excited, I'll admit, about the actual goodbye! Dakota's last week here will probably be the first week of November, and since we have some family travel planned between now and then, his time with us is even shorter. It really seems to me that the more ups and downs you share with a puppy, the more invested you are in his future and the tougher it can be to turn over the leash. We've been through so much with this guy...remember back when he was a guide dog puppy? That just seems ages ago now! In the last couple of months our lives have changed so much as we've researched Type I diabetes, diabetic alert dogs, and scent training. We've learned a lot in such a short time, kind of like Dakota!

But despite goodbyes, I'm so eager to see him at work in his new job that honestly, I'm looking forward to it too...albeit with butterflies in my stomach! And while we're counting down here, I imagine his new handler is counting down too. I can't imagine what that must feel like!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

**Sorry, no pictures this week -- our photographer is on a trip. We miss you, Charissa!**It's a cool, cloudy evening and as shadows begin to close in, people gather at the shopping complex. Small children run squealing through the playscape as their parents sit chatting. Pet dogs are there too, and an occasional bark rings out. The mouthwatering aromas of food pour out of restaurants as couples stroll toward dinner. On the patio, rowdy cheering erupts as people root for their favorite teams on the big screen. But we're not here for any of that. "Team Dakota" is on a mission!

So far we've gotten Duckie to alert us to the scents associated with high and low blood sugar, giving us a distinct signal for each one. But he needs to practice this work in a real-world setting. Will he still be interested in playing our little game when he's surrounded by all his favorite distractions? This is the perfect place to find out.

I wait for the kids, Dakota at heel, to disappear around the corner and then I open the cooler with its containers of scent samples. Grabbing one from the "low" jar, I stuff it in a pocket and head off by a different route to meet them at a predetermined spot.

As I arrive, it's clear that we've accomplished our first goal: Dakota is definitely distracted! He's so engrossed in the antics of a large golden retriever that he scarcely acknowledges my arrival. Charissa practices obedience work with him and he cooperates, but you can see his focus isn't really up to par. We circle around, chatting, and still nothing from Dakota. So we decide to sit down at some picnic tables...

...when all of a sudden, Dakota's head snaps around, sniffing. As if magnetized to that special scent, he leaves Charissa's side to snuffle loudly at my pocket and then he just STARES at me. Still, I don't do anything, waiting for him to give a definite alert. He looks at me as if to say, "Hey, I know, and you know I know, so what's the big deal?" I suppress a laugh and attempt to act like I haven't noticed anything. "Oh, all right!" you can almost hear Dakota say. He rears back on his hind legs and deliberately plants both forepaws on my leg -- our signal for "low." "GOOD BOY!" I praise him, probably much too loudly for public decorum. I'm sure this looks really great to other people...here I'm actually praising a dog, a service dog no less, for jumping up on me?! I just hope I don't have to try and explain this one! But we're elated. It's a definite success!

Dakota gets his well-deserved liver nugget, but I think he's equally excited about all the fuss we make over him. As he prances around happily, he seems to be glancing about to see if anyone's noticed how great he is! Probably a bit disappointed not to be the center of the world's attention, he settles back in to people-watching...and we get ready to repeat the whole procedure.

We practice a couple more times, varying the type of scent and where it's hidden, then meander to a nearby movie theater. Again, the Friday evening traffic, crowds, and popcorn work as strong distractions. Dakota's definitely interested in his surroundings...but time and again, he shows that he loves his work too and enjoys doing it in various situations. His reaction time varies but he never keeps us waiting too long. The more we play, the more alert he seems to get...we're making progress!

Monday, October 5, 2009

This week brought a special visitor: Grandpa! It was a great excuse for the whole family to get out and enjoy ourselves a bit. We spent a day visiting the Texas Natural Science Center at UT.

A whole museum full of bones...for a dog, what's not to like? We all had a good time. I like this picture of Dakota and the dinosaur bone.

"Why don't they come this size at Petco?"

Outside, there were even seats made in the shape of dinosaur vertebrae. Duckie & I thought that was funny!

Big sabertooth kitty only looks fierce...we're not scared!

...And back at home, we're playing a lot of scent-related games for Dakota's diabetic alert training. They're so much fun for him, though, I've never quite broken it to him that this is actually "work"! In one of our games, I secretly hide a scent sample somewhere on my person while someone else distracts Dakota by playing with him outside or in another room. When he returns, he has to first of all notice the scent without a command from anyone; then alert me appropriately. Today I've hidden it in my pocket. He's supposed to alert by jumping up and placing his front feet on me (something he is not allowed to do under other circumstances!)

Making progress! This is a big job, Dakota's far from done, and there's lots for him to learn...but I think he's come a long way in a short time. He has definitely gotten wise to my sneaky ways of hiding scent samples while he's gone and now he's gotten suspicious...he'll usually come "check" me as soon as he comes in the room to make sure he didn't miss anything. Of course, I'm sure that's exactly what his new owner would want him to do, so maybe that's a good thing!

About Me

Beth Lord and her family are volunteer puppy raisers with the Guide Dogs of Texas. Dakota is their second guide dog puppy and first labradoodle. Willie, a yellow lab, graduated to advanced training in summer of '08 and is now a working guide in Austin, TX.